Ravi Bishnoi’s three-wicket haul headlined India’s excellent bowling performance and a seven-wicket victory in a rain-shortened match in Pallekele, which gave the visitors an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series. Chasing a rain-adjusted target of 78 in 8 overs, Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Suryakumar Yadav were among the runs once again as India chased the runs with ease.

What was the difference between the sides?

Sri Lanka were 130/2 at the end of the 15th over but just when they needed to hit the accelerator, the wickets fell in a heap, keeping them to a below-par total of 161/9. A target of over 180, for which Sri Lanka looked well set, could have been tricky for India on a used surface but just like the first T20I, the visitors strangled Sri Lanka in the final few overs of their batting innings, allowing them only 31 runs in the last five overs for the loss of seven wickets. It was a phase of play that went a long way in deciding the match and the series.

Sri Lanka

PowerPlay: Indian bowlers short in the PowerPlay again

Phase score: 54/1 [8x4s, 1x6s]

Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera ensured a productive PowerPlay for Sri Lanka, catching India on the hop in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah once again. Nissanka, in particular, seemed to have picked up the threads from last night pretty well, capitalizing on an erratic start from Mohammed Siraj to gain momentum this time around. And when Kusal Mendis was caught in front of the circle off a slower delivery from Arshdeep Singh, Perera came out and hit a boundary first-ball as if to signal that Sri Lanka were going to keep going full throttle. And that’s how it played out. A six and a four off Siraj followed from Perera in the next over and even though India bowled just the one over of spin inside the first-six tonight, the change in tack didn’t lead to more success upfront.

Middle overs: Kusal Perera carries Sri Lanka

Phase score: 76/1 [9x4s, 1x6s]

India just bowled the one over of pace from overs 7 to 15, with their spin troika of Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Riyan Parag sharing all the workload among them. Even though Parag found the most turn and bounce on the used pitch, it was Bishnoi who delivered the sole breakthrough in this phase when he trapped Nissanka in front of off-stump with a googly. Perera, dropped on 32 by Rinku Singh, went on to stroke a 31-ball fifty as he dominated a fifty-run partnership with Kamindu Mendis for the second wicket.

Death overs: Hara-kiri from Sri Lanka

Phase score: 31/7 [0x4s, 2x6s]

Much like last night, India dominated the last few overs of the Sri Lankan innings. If the hosts lost 9 wickets for 30 runs yesterday, they went on to lose 7 wickets for 31 runs today, a collapse which kept them to a below par total of 161. The slide started in the 16th over bowled by Pandya, which witnessed Rinku Singh redeem himself for the earlier drop with two sharp catches that saw the back of Kamindu and Perera. Bishnoi doubled down in the next over with the wickets of Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga, both bowled as the legspinner finished with 3 for 26. Such was India’s grip on the proceedings that the only time Sri Lanka found the rope after Perera’s dismissal was in the 20th over, when Ramesh Mendis hit a six to break the shackles.

India

The chase: A victory in a canter

Phase score: 81/3 [10x4s, 4x6s]

Three balls into the run-chase, a heavy shower kept the players off the field for over an hour. India’s target was revised to 78 runs in 8 overs and Jaiswal wasted no time when the play resumed, pulling the first delivery after the break for a boundary. Sanju Samson, who had come into the side for the injured Shubman Gill (spasm), went for a first-ball duck when he misread a carrom ball from Maheesh Theekshana but Jaiswal kept his foot on the pedal at the other end, laying into Hasaranga as soon as the recalibrated two-over PowerPlay was over. Suryakumar Yadav, the Player of the Match from the first T20I, looked in good touch again and hammered a hat-trick of boundaries against Theekshana as India, helped by Hardik Pandya’s 9-ball 22*, chased the DLS-adjusted target with nine balls to spare.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 161/9 (Kusal Perera 53; Bishnoi 3-26) lost to India81/3 in 6.3 overs (Jaiswal 30, Suryakumar 26, Pandya 22*; Theekshana 1-16) by 7 wickets (DLS)